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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28240692">Out of Step</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos'>Cookies_and_Chaos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Malory Towers - Enid Blyton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 17:35:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>955</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28240692</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cookies_and_Chaos/pseuds/Cookies_and_Chaos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The problem is, the others don't realise that school can be a most unusual place when your whole life you've been used to something else. Set during book three. Written for the 12 Days of Christmas Challenge, Day 1 "One Unusual Place".</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>12 Days of Christmas Challenge 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Out of Step</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As Lucy turned away with an exasperated shake of her head, Zerelda Brass sure wished she had listened a little bit more when her grandmother was telling her what boarding schools in England were like. Zerelda had thought that it would be like schools back home, except that the girls might be quite proper since the few English people she had seen before had seemed rather serious and staid. Not counting her mother, of course. After all the time, why, she was hardly anymore English than Zerelda was!</p><p>Maybe if Zerelda had listened to her grandmother, she wouldn't be making all these missteps, then the other girls (and weren't these fourth formers so much more solemn than Darrell and the others?) wouldn't be getting so mad at her. What sort of unfair business were all these order marks anyway? All it did was make her a pariah among her form. Maybe, Zerelda thought miserably, that was the whole point.</p><p>Zerelda picked up the source of Lucy's frustration, another piece of Zerelda's prep returned with coarse red pen scars over much of the page. One thing Zerelda had thought for sure was that she would be able to keep up with at least some of the girls over here in class. She got on just fine back home, or as fine as any of the others in her class, anyway. Here she felt like everyone already knew the steps to a dance she'd never even heard of and no-one cared to teach her them. No wonder all these girls were so serious when this was what their teachers had them doing day in, day out.</p><p>Frowning down at the prep, Zerelda thought briefly about sitting and redoing it then and there but, really, what good would that do? She didn't know the answers, didn't know how to find the answers, and the other fourth formers weren't going to help her out, that much she knew! They were far more interested in making sure Zerelda knew she didn't belong than helping her. So she put the prep aside, telling herself that she would come back and try it again later.</p><p>What was most frustrating, Zerelda thought as she made her way down to the third form common room where she might find a kind word and some warm conversation, was that it wasn't all different. Some things at Malory Towers were nothing like the schools she was used to but there was enough that she should be able to get on just fine. How many times as she rose to the challenge of a new situation and been able to come out on top? How many times has she smiled and joked and chatted up a storm, and turned the opinions of others to her favour? None of that worked here. It were as though the girls and teachers were immune to the charm that usually served her so well. Well, except for Gwendoline. She sure was star-struck and Zerelda didn't know much what to do with that sometimes.</p><p>For a place that seemed like it should be much the same, it was remarkable just how much was different.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p>The talk with Jean nagged at Bill the whole way down to the stables. Bill had heard the frustration in Jean's voice, the tell-tale sign that the head of form's good-will towards her was waning, and even though hearing that made her feel uncomfortable and just a touch guilty, Bill simply had go to the stables. Even if going meant defying Miss Peters and earning the disapproval of her whole form. Even if it meant order marks and scoldings. What was any of that in comparison to time with Thunder?</p><p>"They just don't understand," Bill said as she brushed down Thunder.</p><p>Thunder whinnied and pushed his head towards the brush. He was agreeing with her, Bill knew. She didn't care if the others didn't think he understood every word Bill said to him, she knew how clever Thunder was. If only the others would at least try to think a little bit like her, none of this nastiness would be happening and Bill could be perfectly happy and content at Malory Towers. No-one would be bothered over what she was doing in her spare time.</p><p>Bill had never thought herself to be the sort of girl to get homesick, not after the first few days of missing her brothers' horses at least, but thoughts of home weighed heavily on her now. She missed her brothers and her parents and how life was just so simple back with them. She missed being able to ride Thunder whenever she pleased. She even missed her brothers' tutor and how he was much more laid back than any of the teachers here. There was a nagging thought at the back of her mind that it had only been her that the tutor was slack with at times, that he certainly held her brothers to a high standard, and how it might not be such a good thing that he hadn't thought to push her just a little in her work.</p><p>There she was getting distracted from what was important yet again. Bill pushed all the other thoughts away and concentrated on brushing Thunder down. She had known that school would be different but she hadn't — couldn't have — prepared herself for just how different it would all be. She had told Jean when she first started that if Malory Towers was awful, she would saddle up Thunder and ride off home. Well, it certainly wasn't awful and Bill liked most the girls well enough but she would be lying if she said she weren't sorely tempted to ride off sometimes all the same. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>If you want to join in some, all, or one of the 12Days challenges, just go through to the Collection and the rules should be there. :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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